Taking a Chance
by azngirl123
Summary: Kind of AU. Percy and Annabeth are seniors, which means they're starting to consider different paths in their lives. What will Percy do when Annabeth's chosen path in life is radically different from his? Will their relationship last? Read to find out.


**A/N: Hey readers! Sorry I haven't been writing much. Super busy! This story doesn't have anything to do with the plot lines from the books. So AU, but they are still demigods.**

**Note: Annabeth is currently living in New York with her family in a house on the outskirts of NYC. Her family is away at the time.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.**

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**Percy's POV in 3rd person:**

They've been inseparable for years, but as seniors, it's time for them to choose their colleges. He knows that they need to talk about the future, but Annabeth manages to change the subject. He knows she's hiding from him. He doesn't even know where she wants to go, but he imagines her going to places all over the nation. She's kept him in the dark about where she's sent out applications and it hurts. He's told her everything about his plans; he's going to N.Y.U. to stay close to his family and friends, he's studying marine biology, and he plans to keep their relationship going. The only thing he knows is that she wants to be in architecture, not even sure that she wants to be with him any longer. He feels absolutely horrible, thinking he's holding her back, tying her to him for the rest of her life. He doesn't want Annabeth to feel suffocated and is utterly confused on what's going on with her. She's been distant recently, avoiding him, and it scares him. It's now close to the end of the school year and he can't take it any longer, so on this dark, rainy day, late in the evening, he shows up at her doorstep to talk.

"Percy! What are you doing here? It's nearly eleven! You're soaking wet!" she exclaimed as she opens her door, surprised to see her boyfriend here at this hour.

"We need to talk. Now." He made his way into her house and to her couch, evaporating the water off of him along the way.

"About what? What in Hades is so important that you couldn't wait until tomorrow?" she asked, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Let's start here. Why are you hiding from me? You've managed to tell me as little as possible about your college plans. Annabeth, I want to know what your plans are. I've had enough of the constant subject change when we talk about college," he tried to keep the hurt out of his voice, but was unsuccessful. She looked away, ashamed. He didn't want to sound demanding and controlling, but he had every right to know. Their future mattered to him and he wanted there to be one.

"I'm sorry Percy that I've kept my plans hidden. I didn't want to worry you during the application process and I just wanted to tell you when I got accepted and such," her voice faded off.

Pressing her further, he asked her, "It's the end of the year, you probably already got the acceptance letters already, haven't you?" Pausing to let her answer, she nodded.

"Then where are you going. You know I will fight for this relationship no matter what." He took in a deep breath, knowing what he was going to say next may hurt the both of them, "And I want to know…if you're still in this relationship because if you aren't, there's no point to drag it out."

She panicked. This was the real reason why she wanted to hide. She didn't want to tell him her insecurities of a long distance relationship. She couldn't face him because she knew what she was going to say would hurt him.

Back turned to him, she whispered as tears fell from her eyes, "Percy, I don't know if we're going to last."

He was right. For once he was right and he never felt worse. Tears welled in his eyes as he heard the confession. He grabbed her and held her to him, feeling his shirt soak up the salty tears.

"Don't talk like that, Annabeth. We've been through thick and thin. Quest after quest, battle after battle, we've always been there for each other. We fought the nastiest monsters, evaded death, and saved Olympus together. Come on we've survived the first year of our relationship with you in San Francisco and me here in New York," trying to lighten the mood. In a joking tone, he said, "After all of that, what's a few states between us for a few more years going to do, Wise Girl?"

She pulled away from him almost immediately. Looking up to him, she confessed, "Percy, it's not going to be a few states, it's going to be an entire ocean."

He let go of her and looked at her with shocked eyes, "An ocean? What are you talking about Annabeth? Where are you going?"

If it hadn't been so quiet in the room, he would have not heard her answer. "I have been accepted into Oxford in London."

He felt utterly torn between emotions. The dichotomy of feelings was tearing his heart to shreds. He's proud of her to get into _Oxford_, but he's hurting in the inside, realizing that this relationship may and will fall apart.

"Where else did you apply?" She bit her lip, knowing that it the question would come.

"Cornell, Harvard, NYU, Columbia, Boston University, and well…um... Oxford." He was confused by the missing link between the universities.

"The first four are around here, but why Oxford in _England_?" he said, stressing the last word.

"I…well…I decided why not? I wanted to see the outcome. I never seriously thought they would accept me, but they did." She couldn't look at him anymore and sat down as far away in the room as possible.

It was too much for him. He had to sit down and chose the seat across from her. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that she was going to be away from him for years and gods know who she's going to meet when away. It was something out of his control. He was originally fine if it was a state apart where he was willing to drive to her as many times as possible, but a different _country_ was completely different. Although he was a son of Poseidon, it wasn't like he was going to able to swim or sail across that Atlantic Ocean every weekend and flying was obviously out of the question.

_"_Percy say something," she pleaded.

"I…what do you want me to say Annabeth? You have no idea how incredibly happy I am that you got into Oxford, but you didn't tell me _anything_ about what you were doing where I told you every single detail of my plans, right down to what I was going to bring!" His hurt and the quietness from her soon set off his temper. He didn't want to be angry, it just was that this relationship is so important to him and he wanted to do everything to keep it, but the fact that not only did she hide her plans, she possibly hurt their relationship by going so far away.

"And now, you only told me because I made you. Annabeth, we only have weeks left of school and you still hadn't told me a single thing. And this thing turned out to be a huge deal because it will obviously affect us. I don't know how to have a long distance relationship when we're in radically different places. But, I know that I want to try and I will try my hardest to keep what we have because I love you. The only question is if you're willing to." His heart was breaking as the silence grew after his rant. This relationship that he cherished so much is coming to an end. An end that he didn't want to see.

"Percy, I love you too and you know that."

"But there's a but." He dejectedly said, sensing that her sentence was not done. She looked at him forlornly and continued on.

"But this is Oxford. Oxford in England. There's an entire ocean between us. We'll be in different time zones. We'll have radically different lives. Our relationship has a good chance of not lasting."

"We'll never know if we don't try! Annabeth, how are we supposed to know that we wouldn't last if we didn't even try!"

"It'll just break our hearts if we try and fail. I just can't put my heart on the line like that. I can't risk it." Silence fell upon them. They both looked into each others' eyes. Percy knew that this is the end of something he truly loved.

"Then that's it, isn't it?" His heart was now completely broken.

"I'm afraid it is." She avoided his gaze as she said this.

There was nothing left he could do. He was too hurt to plead for her to take a chance. He saw that she was unwilling to and it broke his heart in half, realizing that she wasn't willing to take a chance. He truly thought that she would be his one and done, but fate had a different plan for them. He stood up to leave and halfway to the door, he heard her.

"Percy, I'm sorry. I wish I could, but I can't."

"Can't or won't?" He turned back to her.

"What's the difference if I can't or if I won't? Don't they both mean the same?" He finally had asked her a question that she didn't know the answer to, but why did it have to be this.

"Can't means that there is something stopping you from taking the chance. Won't means that you don't have the will to even consider taking the chance." The look of distress on her face clued him into the answer. By her look and silence, he knew that it was won't. She didn't have to say anything, but he knew. Knowing that it was won't, hurt him even further. Shaking his head, he made for the door. He left before she could say another word. Leaving her house, his heart was completely shattered.

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**So…sad ending, I know. It's been awhile since I've written anything and even a longer time since I've written a sad ending. I hope you all enjoyed it! Review!**

**-azngirl123**


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